How We Play—Is How We Live

When was the last time you played? “The opposite of play is not work. It’s depression.”* Brian Sutton-Smith, Play Theorist Play, in its purest form, extends beyond the innate intelligence of our biological processes raising two puzzling questions: How? and Why? How does play work in our lives? And, why are we born with this ability? Studies show that play is paramount to the development of young children. The lack of it can be the catalyst for many social, physical, and cognitive disorders throughout childhood, adolescence, and even adulthood. Research has proven that play is the way children learn about the world around them. Now as an adult, I find myself asking, does play serve a purpose outside of our childhood and adolescence? And, why do some of us stop playing as we get older... or do we really? From childhood to present, play has consumed me. I am an artist who thrives off creativity. I am a practitioner of capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian ritualized martial art form that is described as “playing” not “fighting.” It is no exaggeration to state that play is a fundamental part of my life. And with 13 years of experience as a teacher, I have spent most of my days with the master players I refer to as young people. From the San Francisco Bay Area to East Africa, my interactions with young people range from homework assistance to outside supervision to basketball coaching, circus acrobatics, and of course, capoeira. My lifestyle is centered around the things that I enjoy most (photography, film, children, capoeira, circus, and travel). I make a living through work that is my recreation. I do not have one without the other. How I Play—is How I live. The purpose of this exhibition is to display how play takes shape in our lives. Through the personal and cultural experiences of children, adults, artists, and scholars, this exhibition explores the existence and significance of play beyond childhood to adulthood; the stage of life where society often deems play unnecessary. However, play is all around. How We Play—is How We live. n —Jarrel “Chumbinho” Phillips, Guest Curator and AVE Executive Director * Kane, Kane. “What is ‘The Play Ethic’?” The Play Ethic. n.d. Web. 9 Sep. 2014. All photos in this exhibition have been photographed by Jarrel Phillips unless otherwise noted. How We Play—is How We Live design and layout by Christine Joy Ferrer. Title Illustrations by Jian “Aguia” Giannini. What is your play personality? “The main characteristic of play—whether of child or adult—is not its content but its mode. Play is an approach to action, not a form of activity.”1 Jerome Bruner Play PersonalitY2 The Collector: Coins, cars, wine, even bugs. You like to gather things. The Competitor: Competition within sports and other games. You are in it to win it. The Director: You are a planner and organizer, whether for a great party or vacation. The Explorer: Into somewhere new or exploring new feelings, emotions and imagination. The Joker: Your idea of fun typically revolves around some kind of nonsense. The Kinesthete: You are a mover. Dancing, biking, swimming, not necessarily competition. The Artist/Creator: You enjoy creating and making things. The Storyteller: You thrive through imagination, everything can be play for you. 1. Else, Perry. The Value of Play. New York: Continuum National, 2009. Google Books. Web. 9 Sep. 2014. 2. Brown, Stuart. Play. New York: Avery, 2009. Print. Learn more about play from ccsf’s child development and family studies department “The playing adult steps sideward into another reality; the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery.”1 Erik H. Erikson, American Psychoanalyst Play. Imagine yourself at play as a young child. What are the first images that come to your mind? Are you laughing... connected.... engaged... happy... present? Where are you? When we play, our brains are alight with activity, present in the moment as we feel, predict, act and react. We build social skills and learn ways of being flexible in the world. Children learn complex skills through playing, which our culture seems to have forgotten. “Play enables children to sort through conflicts and deal with anxieties, fears and disturbing feelings in an active, powerful way. Play provides a safety valve for feelings. When they pretend, children can say or do things that they can’t do in reality,” says Janet Gonzalez-Mena in The Child in the Family and Community2. Learning academics through play, engaging children’s interests, and providing the time and space to learn and work through things by playing—this is the study of life. We hope this exhibition gives you an opportunity to re-imagine play for yourself and for the children in your life. This is what children truly need us to do. The Child Development and Family Studies Department is grateful for the chance to support such an important and thoughtful exhibition! n —Tracy C. Burt, Child Development & Family Studies Department Professor, CCSF 1. “Play Quotes.” The Strong National Museum of Play. n.d. Web. 5 Sep. 2014. 2. Gonzalez-Mena, Janet. The Child in the Family and Community. New York: Merrill, 1993. Print. • Photos: (Top) Child Development and Family Services Department Head, Kathleen White, poses with staff at Nina Mogar’s (second to right) honor celebration. By Jarrel Phillips. • (Bottom) Pyramids with Coach Jarrel at Rice and Beans Cooperative preschool, www.riceandbeanscoop.org. By Luis Lopez. Jogo De Capoeira (Game of Capoeira) “Culture arises and unfolds in and as play.”* Johan Huizinga, Dutch Historian Capoeira is an African Brazilian art form, developed by African slaves in Brazil about 400 years ago. Capoeira is self-defense disguised as a dance because slaves needed to hide it from their slave masters. The combination of body movements, trickery, music, and songs make it not just a martial art, but a ritualized way of combat. Two capoeiristas (capoeira players) must follow the traditions and rules of the art. They must play capoeira, not fight. n —Samoel Domingos, Mestre Urubu Malandro, Capoeira Ijexa Manoel dos Reis Machado Vicente Joaquim Ferreira Pastinha Mestre Bimba Mestre Pastinha Known for his Founder of the first innovative approach Capoeira Angola to capoeira, Mestre school in 1942 Bimba is the in Bahia, Brazil. father of Capoeira Pastinha’s school can Regional; a style be considered the of capoeira known most influential in for its Afro-Bahian shaping Capoeira culture, folkloric Angola into what it dances, berimbau is today. Capoeira (musical instrument) rhythms, fast kicks, Angola emphasizes the art form’s roots in acrobatics, and fighting aspect. In 1937, African culture, maintaining its traditions, Mestre Bimba opened the first capoeira rituals and training methods. Mestre academy in Brazil. He is key to capoeira’s Pastinha wanted his students to understand expansion and global presence. n its practice, philosophy and tradition. n * Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens. Boston, Mass.: Roy Publisher, 1950. Print. • Photos: (Top) Mestre Urubu Malandro. By Jarrel Phillips. (Bottom) Photographers unknown. Project Commotion Capoeira is considered a “game.” It evolved as a fight, a method of self-defense and a means for self-preservation. When we talk about capoeira, we say, “Vamos jogar capoeira, vamos tocar berimbau,” literally, “Let’s play capoeira, let’s play berimbau (musical instrument).” We don’t say, “Let’s fight” or “Let’s spar.” Capoeira can be used as a learning tool for children to increase gross-motor, social, cognitive, and language skills. Most importantly, capoeira provides children and adults with an opportunity to learn through play. Practice of capoeira includes applying what you learn from class exercises and using it in the roda, which is the circle where two players enter to exchange movements. The game that follows is created by the spontaneous exchange of movements between players. It is not choreographed, rather it is created in the moment. This exercise itself, which is what playing capoeira really is, reinforces new patterns that the child has learned and really builds the idea of these movements into the child’s brain by forcing them to use their adapted responses in an instant. The learning that has taken place is strengthened and taken to a whole new level. Play in capoeira is just like play in life. n —Susan Osterhoff, “Professora Formiguinha” Co-founder of Project Commotion and Child Development Faculty, CCSF www.projectcommotion.org • Photo: Project Commotion crew getting down with the kids. By Jarrel Phillips. CAPOEIRA: music and ritual in the roda of life “What we play is life.” Louis Armstrong Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art form. It is the art of a playful game combining dancing, fighting, acrobatics and live music. It was developed by African slaves in Brazil about 400 years ago. Capoeira is a self-defense disguised as a dance because the slaves had to hide it from their slave masters. The combination of body movements, trickery, music and songs make it not just a martial art, but a ritualized way of combat. Two capoeiristas (capoeira players) must follow the traditions and rules of the art. They must play capoeira, not fight. —Mestre Urubu Malandro, Capoeira Ijexa, www.capoeiraijexa.org Like rhythm and harmony, play is captivating, temporarily lifting us to an extra- ordinary realm where order is supreme. There are rules, or a way to play, and any deviation from this order spoils the game and robs it of its character.* The order within the game of capoeira allows its players to preserve culture and traditions while building community that exists outside of the game. The roda where the game takes place starts and ends with music.

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